As of September 1, 2021, we are pleased to be part of D.A. Davidson & Co. We will continue serving our clients as part of their full-service Investment Banking Group. Click here to learn more about our combined strengths.
×

Politicians, School Shootings, Crypto-Currencies, and Some Would-be Acquirers: Case Studies in Wishful Thinking. Our March 2018 Market Update.

Mar 7, 2018

Politicians, School Shootings, Crypto-Currencies, and Some Would-be Acquirers: Case Studies in Wishful Thinking. Our March 2018 Market Update.

Market Update, Newsletter 0 Comments

Dear Clients and Friends,

Our report found here contains an update on m&a deals, values, and trends in the dozen+ segments of the information technology industry that we follow, and sometimes lead. Please click here for our March Market Update.

These days the world seems filled with wishful thinkers; politicians who wish away deficits while cutting taxes and increasing public spending; activists who wish two-thirds of the US House of Representatives and Senate (and three-quarters of the States) would vote to repeal the Second Amendment; those who wish school shootings would end while rejecting any meaningful changes to gun-ownership laws; investors who confuse Blockchain with crypto-currencies – and wish that the US Dollar, Euro and other fiat currencies issued by governments would be replaced with stateless crypto-currencies that don’t require more electricity than Denmark and aren’t susceptible to collusion, hackers, volatility and misuse; and some would-be acquirers who wish they could buy strong, growing, technology-enabled companies on the cheap. For them and others we have news: wishes won’t get you there.

We get it. There is something romantic about all these concepts. But wishing isn’t a plan. While others wish, the national debt and the price of crypto-currencies keep rising to absurd levels; and kids keep getting killed both at school and in their neighborhoods. Wishing is not enough.

So, we will go beyond wishing to push politicians to spend, tax, and regulate more wisely, reject the extremists and enact common sense solutions; suggest that investors understand the difference between Blockchain and hyped crypto-currencies; and advise would-be acquirers to understand the future value of strong, growing technology-based companies that provide innovative solutions to real problems (whether or not they use Blockchain).

Read more from our March Market Update here.

Wishful thinking won’t help. (By the way, our current approach isn’t likely to deter the Russians from meddling with Western political systems either.)

A few of the more interesting deals this month include:

•Temenos (SWX:TEMN) agreed to acquire Fidessa for $1.9bn, valuing the company at an implied 3.8x LTM revenue and 21.5x LTM EBITDA, Exponent Private Equity acquired the Talent Assessment business of CEB from Gartner for $400mm,
•Warburg Pincus (New York, NY) agreed to acquire a 55% stake in Fiserv Solutions for $395mm, valuing the business at an implied $718mm, LogMeIn (NASDAQ:LOGM) agreed to acquire Jive Communications for $342mm with an additional $15mm based on performance over a 2-year period,
•Visa (NYSE:V) agreed to acquire Fraedom for £142mm (~$196mm), valuing the company at an implied 4.3x LTM revenue,
•CITIC Capital Partners (Hong Kong) and Caixin Global (Beijing, China) agreed to acquire Global Market Intelligence Division (“GMID”) from Euromoney Institutional Investor for $181mm, valuing the company at 12x LTM operating profit,
•The Shenzhen Stock Exchange (Shenzhen, China) and The Shanghai Stock Exchange (Shanghai, China) agreed to acquire a 25% stake in Dhaka Stock Exchange for $119mm, implying an enterprise value of $477mm.

Please see our March 2018 Market Update here.

 

Ken Marlin

Ken Marlin

Ken Marlin is Managing Partner and Founder of Marlin & Associates and the author of "The Marine Corps Way to Win on Wall Street: 11 Key Principles from Battlefield to Boardroom" (St. Martin's Press 2016).

Over the course of more than 30 years Ken has advised scores of U.S. and international middle-market technology enabled firms on the best ways to buy, sell, grow and thrive. Along the way, he's been an entrepreneur (three times), a tech company CEO (twice), a senior corporate executive (twice) and an investment banker.

Seventeen years ago, Ken embarked on a journey to create a different sort of investment bank - one that would meld the investment banking skills he learned over 20 years on Wall Street with lessons he learned as a tech entrepreneur and the principles he learned during the decade he spent on active duty as a U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer. Today, Marlin & Associates is one of the most active M&A advisers in the information technology arena.

Institutional Investor Magazine has five times named Ken as one of II’s “Tech 50” and the II “FinTech 35” - both of which honor the most influential figures in the financial technology data and analytics sector.

Outside the office, Ken is a trustee of the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club, which serves underprivileged kids throughout the five counties of New York City; and an active supporter of the Phoenix House Foundation, The Wall Street Warriors Foundation, The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, University of the People, the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School, and Outward Bound Peacekeeping.

Ken’s book has garnered strong reviews and is consistently ranked among the top in governance, finance and leadership. One reviewer called it a compelling vision to improve Wall Street by returning to solid core values like taking the long view, behaving with honor, delivering excellence and working for a cause greater than money.

Ken earned a BA from the University of California (Irvine), an MBA from UCLA, and a post-MBA Advanced Professional Certificate in Corporate Strategy from New York University. He lives in New York City with his wife, daughter, a dog, a cat and turtle.

Connect with Ken:
Back to Top